Multicultural Counseling

Effective Communication in Multicultural Counselling



Effective Communication in Multicultural Counselling

Multicultural Counselling

It is defined as the ethnographic variables such as ethnicity, nationality, religion and language; demographic variables such as age, gender and place of residence; status variables such as social, educational and economic; and affiliations including both formal affiliations to family or organizations and informal affiliations to ideas and a lifestyle (Henrik 1980 153).

Every person has a different background, speaks different languages, and belongs to different cultures and alike. In a broader context, multiculturalism puts emphasis in the ways we are different from others and also in the ways we are similar to other people. Multiculturalism starts with recognizing the differences among and within clients and give stress on the significance of family and cultural factors that are affecting the way clients view the world.

Communicating appropriately and effectively is often emphasized as a key to be a culturally competent person. However, past research did not always refer to the necessary communication that one needs to acquire. This essay reviewed the different definitions of competences to investigate the underlying emphasis, and raised the importance of focusing on multicultural communication competence. Knowing that the individuals' competence can be an inherent (trait) and/or a learned (state) ability, it is emphasized that the scholars need to consider both personal (demographic) and situational variables to explain the skills that need to be acquired to become culturally competent (Ankerl 2000 111).

Analysis and Discussion

A growing number of studies have been published in the area of intercultural communication competence (ICC). About ten years ago, Chen and Starosta proposed the importance of acquiring the skills to be an interculturally competent person. Afterwards, awareness toward cultural differences has increased; however, what the criteria one can follow to acquire skills to be interculturally competent person has not yet fully investigated (Chen & Starosta 1996 79).

Several important trends of the late twentieth century, such as technology development, globalization of the economy, widespread population migrations, and the development of multiculturalism, have transformed the world into a global village. Being interculturally competent in communication transforms a monocultural person into a multicultural person. Individuals have been expected not only to increase awareness toward cultural differences but also to gain the skills to perform appropriately in different communication settings.

Understanding the concept of multiculturalism has been important due to phenomena like globalization, international migration, and ethnic diversification. Multiculturalism emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the existence of ethnic diversity, ensuring the rights of individuals to retain their culture, and coexist in a society.

Multiculturalism not only promises benefits for underrepresented and previously excluded groups but provides gains for the majority as well. Many of the efforts to advance diversity and multiculturalism fail to deal with real and pressing problems in institutional analysis and action planning. Taking the university context as an example, it is necessary for each university to have a vision of a multicultural academic organization, to have knowledge about reality and problems, and to design systematic planning that better suits the ...